You Win, This Time
by PsychoLeopard
Summary: Suikoden III, on the rivalry between Borus and Percival.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Suikoden, it's characters, or even a copy of the game. Nor do I have a lawyer or any money, so suing me would be pointless._

_**You win, this time.**_

They had had a friendly rivalry from the first. It had actually begun the first time they fenced. The blond, noble-born squire had not thought much of the dark-haired common-born boy who faced him so confidently. He had certainly not expected the challenge he received! But he was not the best for nothing, and when he finally put forth a bit of effort, he won.

Percival took this with good grace. He saluted, and admitted, "You win, this time."

_You win, this time_.

Those words were more than an admission of defeat or a statement of fact. They were a promise: that he would not win every time; that he might lose in the end. Every time they fenced, Percival would say those words. In time, the commoner became the better swordsman, and it was Borus's turn to say those words to him.

_You win, this time_.

Their rivalry stretched to cover races, training, errands, and many other things. They kept running counts of kills in battle, seeing who was most effective in any given fight. But no contest was ever harder to win than that of Lady Chris.

The contest had remained unvoiced for a long time. They had both admired her from afar, and then gotten to know her. It became a race to see who could know her best, who could befriend her first. Borus became her bodyguard, but Percival was not deterred.

_You win, this time_.

Then, in the second fire-bringer war, after Percival almost got her killed—or worse, seduced!—in Iksay, the Knight of Gale backed off for a time. He had not expected an innocent excursion to a quiet village to turn out so badly, but when the knights arrived he admitted he had made a mistake.

_You win, this time_.

Except, he hadn't. Lady Chris had almost immediately gone off with that Harmonian. And when they rejoined her, after the True Fire Rune had been found, she did not favor one over the other. Until, that is, she took Borus with her to Alma Kinan.

_You win, this time_.

But Borus failed to protect Chris or to keep the witch from stealing Chris's True Rune. It was his turn to admit defeat.

_You win, this time_.

At the Sindar ruins, Borus pledged himself to the Lady Chris. This was one contest Percival was not going to yield. He swore an instant after Borus had finished. Louis got the last laugh, though.

In the final battle against the Wind Rune, Chris chose to take Borus but not Percival. Percival accepted this reluctantly, and charged Borus with protecting their captain.

_You win, this time_.

After the war, everyone spent some time recuperating at Budehuc castle. It would take time for wounds to heal, and time for everyone to say goodbye to old acquaintances and new friends. Borus was getting ready for bed after a night of drinking down in Anne's bar when Percival entered without knocking.

"Percival! Have you no manners?" Borus chided him, hastily reaching for his shirt.

Percival quirked an eyebrow. "Oh please. Like I've never seen a man without his shirt before." He smirked while Borus glared and pulled his shirt on.

"What do you want? Can't it wait until morning?" the blond knight demanded wearily. Tomorrow they would return to Brass Castle. What could be so important that it couldn't wait until then?

Percival's smirk faded. "Perhaps I was wrong in assuming you would like to say goodbye?"

Borus started and frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I'm returning to Iksay. They need me, and the knights don't."

"What are you saying? You've always wanted to be a knight!" Borus exclaimed, taken aback.

Percival leaned casually against the doorframe. "And as a knight, I have a duty to help people. Iksay _needs_ help that I can give. I've already received the Captain's consent."

"When will you come back?" Borus demanded.

Percival tilted his head. "I can't say. I might never come back. I just don't know."

Borus clenched his fists and shot to his feet. To keep from punching the other knight—or a wall—he spun to stare out the window.

"I didn't think you would take it this hard," Percival remarked softly, for once without a trace of mockery in his voice.

Borus braced himself against the wall and hung his head. "How did you think I'd take it? Damn it, Percival, after all this time…"

"You win, Borus," came the soft voice behind him. Borus waited for the rest, but the words didn't come. He turned, but Sir Percival was gone.

_A/N: I thought about continuing it a little further and putting in some original plot, but when I got here I kind of liked it the way it was. What do you think?_


End file.
